We are an organisation of Fellows of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, and of other historians and people engaged in history.
Who we are
We are historians dedicated to collegial and scholarly engagement who seek to involve, through our activities, others of like mind in the university and the broader community of historians.
We emphasise community inclusiveness and welcome participation by independent historians and other scholars, and we encourage research within and beyond the University of Melbourne.
Many of our members also participate in other historical associations and groups, including SHAPS Brown Bag seminars, Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Professional Historians Australia and community history associations.
How we operate
Our group is an unincorporated non-profit voluntary association with two key organisation elements:
- Members, who can vote on decisions at monthly meetings, and participate and vote on decisions at the Annual General Meeting.
- Committee Convenors, who coordinate activities.
We encourage participation from anyone in the community interested in historical research. The only activities restricted to formal members are voting on organisational and financial matters.
We operate under the auspices of and in consultation with the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne.
Our events and initiatives
Our events and initiatives
Our three major activities are:
- Monthly seminars.
- Annual Research Day Conference (from which, in 2019, we published the anthology 1919: The Year Things Fell Apart?).
- Supporting new historical research, in particular through raising funds for the annual Fellows Essay prize. This Prize (currently $2,000) is awarded to the outstanding article published in the previous year by a graduate student in history in SHAPS.
Upcoming events and activities are publicised on the SHAPS Friends of History Facebook page.
Explore our stories
Contact us
Have a question or interested in joining? Get in contact by emailing one of our 2024 Convenors Committee members:
| Position | Name | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Tony Ward | Email: tonyward@bigpond.net.au |
| Secretary | Fay Woodhouse | Email: flw@unimelb.edu.au |